Sunday November 2nd, 2014

    This week of class became much more difficult than anything else we have visited in the course as of yet. The concept itself is understandable: finding the worst case and proving a worst case on a number of steps based in an overestimate, and in an underestimate, that part is clear. What isn't clear to me is how we'd be able to recreate Professor Heap's thinking strategies and calculations in a test or on an assignment. The concept is quite difficult, but I feel with more attention and practice, I would be able to understand it further. I simply would study over the slides and talk to my friends about the big-oh methods. I could also relate this big-oh concept to other concepts I have previously learned to help, such as analyzing lists and using the python visualizer to track through its steps. For example, running a type of "simulation" in the visualizer using insertion sort, tracking through a list based on a claim from a previous test, and start by tracing the code for a few of its steps to analyze how the steps run, where they execute, and in what instances certain lines wouldn't run. On that topic of lines that wouldn't run, what really bothered me about this week was understanding how exactly certain lines ran a certain (n) number of times. I'll continue with my previous example of a "simulation" to further understand that as well. As for now, I'll continue to remain attentive and discuss with my classmates about how big-oh works, and I might even approach Prof. Heap after class to speak with him about the class material.